On December 17, 1997, students from San Francisco's Thurgood Marshall Academic High School met for an internet chat with Professor Patty Blum of the Boalt School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to the chat, Harry Kreisler and Beth Atkin held several meetings with Professor Blum and Thurgood Marshall teacher Brian Simmons. Their discussions focused on the integration of chat session with the students' American history curriculum. Harry Kreisler and Beth Atkin also developed an online curriculum on immigration for use by the students, and conducted a workshop at the school. Following is a transcript of the chat.

Raymond: Hi! I am Raymond.

Linda: Hello, my name is Linda Hi.

Sherylene: Hello People!! This is Sherylene!!

Celina: Hola! How are you doing?

Teasha: Hi.

Garen: Hello.

Harry Kreisler: Hi students. I am Harry Kreisler. I will introduce Professor Blum in a second. Are you about ready to begin?

Brian Simmons: Hello Prof. Blum and Mr. Kreisler. We are excited to engage you in some thoughtful conversation about issues involving immigration. Thank you very much for sharing your expertise with us.

Kreisler: Brian and students, thanks for the welcome. I am pleased to introduce Professor Blum from the Law School.

Blum: Hi students. I will take the first question from Celina.

Celina: Hello, Prof. Blum. The first question that we would like to ask you is "Some people say that the U.S. has too many people to accept more immigrants." How do you feel about this?

Blum: Celina, That is a very good question -- one of the hardest facing our policy makers. I believe that the United States continues to have the capacity to accept immigrants, because immigrants contribute greatly both to our economy and to the diversity of our society.

Sherylene: Why do so many people come to America when they know how hard the life here will be?

Blum: I am not sure that immigrants realize how hard their lives will be when they get here. Most people leave their countries because they are in a crisis situation, for example, poverty or political repression. Students, are any of you immigrants? Why do any of you perceive life here as difficult?

Sherylene: I'm not an immigrant, but when my family first came here, they saw that adapting to the American lifestyle was hard and that the transition from life in the Philippines was a great ordeal for them.

Blum: Sherylene, I wish it were easier for immigrants when they first arrive.

Next page: Nativism, Discrimination, Affirmative Action, and Refugees